Claim for $260,000 backfires into bill of $11,000 for former National MP Aaron Gilmore

Monday, 27 December 2021

Former National MP Aaron Gilmore resigned from parliament after a boozy incident in Hanmer Springs in 2013. (File photo)

A “wholly unmeritorious” claim by former MP Aaron Gilmore against his landlord for $260,262, has backfired with a judge telling him and his company to pay the landlord more than $11,000 in costs.

Aaron Gilmore, 48, is the sole director of Mighty Rocket Properties, which had leased an apartment in Wellington from Capital City Holdings.

When Capital City Holdings terminated the lease on the apartment earlier this year Mighty Rocket Apartments said it was an unlawful termination and claimed that the action had cost the company $260,262.

Mighty Rocket was claiming there had been unlawful restraint and removal of property from the apartment and, among other things, a loss of projected profits.

Gilmore resigned from parliament after an incident in a Hanmer Springs restaurant. It was alleged that when a barman declined to sell him any more alcohol, Gilmore asked the barman 'Do you know who I am?' then threatened to have then-Prime Minister John Key intervene to have him sacked.

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In September last year Mighty Rocket served a statutory demand on Capital for the sum of $260,262.

Capital City responded by going to the High Court seeking an order to have Mighty Rocket’s demand set aside.

Before the matter could be heard, Gilmore decided to withdraw Mighty Rocket’s demand.

Earlier this month Associate Judge Kenneth Johnston heard from both parties in relation to costs.

Capital City’s lawyer, Scott Barker, told the judge that Mighty Rocket had behaved improperly by serving the statutory demand and said there was no proper basis for the claim, which was without merit. On that basis the amount of costs should be increased, he said.

Judge Johnston agreed with Barker’s view that the claim was “wholly unmeritorious and was issued and/or maintained despite Mr Gilmour’s [sic] knowledge of this”.

“In this case, Mr Gilmour [sic] was clearly the driving force behind making the demand, forcing Capital City Holdings to take the steps that it did,” the judge said.

He said Gilmore was the driving force behind the application and ruled it was appropriate that the costs order be made against Mighty Rocket and Gilmore jointly.

They were ordered to pay Capital City Holdings the sum of $10,755, with disbursements of $639.57.

Gilmore made the headlines in 2013 and was reluctantly forced to quit Parliament over his antics during a boozy night in Hanmer Springs and allegations he misled Prime Minister John Key's office.